Цели и задачи проекта:
– расширение знаний учащихся о культурных традициях нашей страны;
– развитие коллективного творчества учащихся, формирование навыков
проектно-исследовательской деятельности и проведения презентации на
иностранном
языке;
– развитие социо-культурной компетенции учащихся.
People in Russia keep their old customs and traditions and are very
proud of
them. Customs are changing more often than traditions. Today the most
widely
spread are the following ones:
Russian people usually give up their seats to the elderly or to other
people
who need it;
When you meet your friend you may kiss him or her or shake hands;
We usually visit our friends not only on holidays and week-ends. We
can do it
without any warning and it’s quite common to bring some tasty things to
tea;
Russian people usually go to bed late in the evening especially at
weekends.
They enjoy drinking tea with their relatives or friends in the kitchen
and
having long chats;
The Russians are known to be a hospitable and open-hearted people.
They like
to invite guests to their places, they like to give traditional
souvenirs to
their foreign friends as Matryoshka dolls, beautiful mugs, plates and
spoons
from the village of Khokhloma and Palekh boxes, Zhostovo tea-trays,
Gzhel dishes,
Pavlovo headscarves;
Russian people like having parties and receiving guests. It’s common
to
propose the head of the house’s health;
According to an old tradition a very important guest should be
welcomed with
the symbol of life giving food – bread and salt;
Also when the newly husband and wife come to the groom parents’
house, his
mother meets molodykh with the bread and salt. All guests watch
attentively who
takes a bigger piece of the wedding caravay. He or she is supposed to be
at the
head of the family;
Russian people enjoy reading very much. It’s not surprising at all to
see
reading people in transport, especially on the underground;
The Russians are known as pet lovers. Many families keep different
pets at
home. They take care of their pets and train them. Cats, dogs, guinea
pigs,
parrots and fish are the most common pets in Russia;
Until the beginning of the 20th century Russian bath had
been the
first necessity of home life. People often went to bathhouses. Today it
is
rather an entertainment or a part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s one of
the best
ways to communicate with friends. The main attributes of Russian baths
are birch
and oak brooms, steam, sweet tea with herbs, kvass or other drinks.
Russian
people believe in the healing force of baths, it’s very effective for
the
prevention of cold diseases and a nice way of relaxation;
Many Russians are religious people. When a new baby is born in Russia
he or
she is usually christened in a church. Christening is an ancient
ceremony during
which a new baby is dipped 3 times in to the water. After a baby has
been
christened we usually say: "He or she is a man of God”. It’s common to
invite
relatives and guests after this ceremony and to have a festive dinner;
Russian people celebrate religious holidays such as Easter,
Christmas,
Christmas-tide, Shrovetide (or Maslenitsa) and others. Easter is one of
the most
favourite holidays in Russia. It has no the fixed date. It’s celebrated
on the
first Sunday after the first spring new moon. It usually falls on April.
Easter
is the day of memory of Jesus Christ: his life, death and resurrection.
The
holiday has some ceremonies: the all-night vigil and the religious
procession.
On the Easter day we greet each other by the words: "Christ is risen!”
And the
expected answer is: "He is risen indeed!” The traditional Easter food is
kulich
and coloured hard-boiled eggs;
The 6th of January is Christmas Eve according to the
Orthodox
Church. It was said on that day: "It’s good to have kutya (ritual boiled
rice)
on Christmas Eve”. If the kutya was good it was believed that the coming
year
would be a happy one. The 7th of January is Christmas day by
the
Julinian calendar. The sun was expected to appear on that day. "On this
day the
Earth will hear you”, – old people used to say. This holiday is
celebrated with
all-night services in churches. Nowadays more and more people observe
and enjoy
the day;
The days from Christmas to the Epiphany are called Christmas tide.
Earlier
people had carnivals, told fortunes, made snowman, rode troikas, played
snowballs, wore fancy costumes and sang carols during this days. At
present many
people, especially young girls enjoy telling fortunes. The simpliest way
is to
write down the name of the sweetheart on a sheet of paper, to put it on
the
plate and to burn it. If the sheet is not burned to ashes, the
sweetheart will
marry her;
Almost all Russians observe Old New Year which falls on the 13th
of January. Until 1918 Russia had used the Julinian calendar which was
13 days
behind the European (or Gregorian) one. In 1918 Russia accepted the
Gregorian
calendar but the tradition to celebrate Old New Year remained. Many
Russians
stay at home on this day. They invite friends and relatives, have a
festive
supper, have fun and set off fireworks;
Maslenitsa came to Russia from the pagan Slavs. The most important
god in the
pagan times was Yarilo, the God of the Sun and Fertility. The Slavs
believed
that the change of seasons was the struggle between Yarilo and the evil
spirits
of cold and darkness. According to the ancient beliefs it was necessary
to help
Yarilo in his fight against winter. And that’s why the main element of
Shrovetide (or Maslenitsa) was pancake eating. Pancakes symbolized
Yarilo, the
God of the Sun. The Slavs believed that by eating pancakes they received
the
vital power, light and warmth of the sun. Today the Russians eat them
with honey,
red and black caviar, mushrooms, soured cream or jam – to any taste;
We celebrate Shrovetide for seven days. The whole week is filled with
fun and
games. Every day of the week has its special name and rituals. The last
day of
Maslenitsa is called the Forgiveness Day. Everybody ask one another for
forgiveness in order to redeem themselves from their sins. We bow to one
another
and say: "God will forgive you”. On the last day of the week we burn the
scarecrow of Maslenitsa. It means we say good bye to winter and welcome
spring;
Now we would like to show you a short presentation of Shrovetide. Of
course,
it is not full but we are sure you will get the idea of this wonderful
holiday. |